Pages

Friday, 7 October 2011

Midwinterblood 7 Event Blog Trail: Marcus Sedgwick Guest Post!

I don't really think Marcus Sedgwick needs an introduction, so I'll just say this: if you've never read one of his books, please do so soon. He's one of the best authors to come out of the UK!

This week (yesterday, if I'm being specific) sees the publication of his new book, Midwinterblood, and to celebrate there have been real-life events going on all through England. The last leg of this is taking place on 7 blogs, and I am today's stop. Marcus has written a great post for me about - what else?! - vampires!

As a little extra from the lovely Orion publishers, you can visit an exclusive URL HERE to be taken to a secret page on Marcus's website, where you'll be able to find additional content - a book extract, perhaps... Enjoy!

~

Marcus Sedgwick

It’s true. Years ago I was amazed to discover that vampires were known to the Vikings, at least, if their sagas are to be believed. In a couple of them, the Eyrbyggja Saga for example, the bodies of those slain rise from the dead, causing havoc, slaughtering animals and men, and blood flows.

Some readers interpret these revenants as ghosts, but what, after all, is the difference between a ghost and a vampire? Not such a great deal. Both are spirits who, for whatever reason, come back after death, and the main difference is the association of blood drinking on the part of the vampire, the lack of corporeality on the part of the ghost. And yet, go back in time, and vampires, at least in the original folklore, are very rarely described as drinking blood, and the main difference seems to be more to do with where you lived, not what the revenant actually was. Eastern Europe has a strong vampire tradition, England does not. What we have here is ghosts. And yet, we dealt with ghosts in exactly the same ways that our Transylvanian cousin dealt with vampires: a stake through the chest, or mouth for example. Or better yet, both. To the superstitious mind, both of these frights, the vampire and the ghost, are just people trying to come back, with unfinished business to conclude with the living. And so are the viking vampires: often the victim of a domestic quarrel, the aggrieved party return after death to try and claim what they believe to be theirs: in the case of Midwinterblood, two children, twin brother and sister, whose uncle returns after death, claiming them as his own.